Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard had a meltdown for the ages on Tuesday night.
In the final 30 seconds of Tech’s 82-71 loss to Big 12 rival West Virginia, Beard lit into the officials and threw an epic temper tantrum that featured him sitting on the floor and mimicking an opposing player before the referees booted him from the game. Then after picking up the technical foul, Beard walked over to give West Virginia coach Bob Huggins a fist bump before turning around and going after the referees again. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Chris Beard just picked up one of the best ejections I’ve ever seen, even stopped yelling at the refs to fist bump Bob Huggins pic.twitter.com/Mz13Wv1hQG
— CJ Fogler Ol’ Steroid Ass #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 10, 2021
The only thing missing from that was some toddler-esque leg kicking and fist pounding. It would’ve been appropriate, since toddlers don’t usually wear masks, and Beard wasn’t wearing one either.
What was behind Beard’s maskless tirade?
Tech, ranked No. 7, had a tough game against the No. 14 Mountaineers. With their three-game winning streak on the line, Texas Tech was called for 29 fouls and made 14-of-20 free throws. West Virginia committed just 20 fouls and made 29 of 39 free throws — with 27 of those free throws coming in the second half.
Beard was frustrated with the officiating, but the final straw appeared to come after a West Virginia player dove for a loose ball and immediately called a timeout. When Beard sat on the floor and made an exaggerated timeout gesture, that’s what he was mimicking.
After the game, Beard told reporters that his tantrum was in defense of his players.
“I just thought that from a coaching standpoint, you gotta fight for your players,” Beard said via CBS Sports. “Obviously college basketball, you guys know the drill, Big 12 policy and all that, but I would just say from my point of view, the West Virginia player was calling for a timeout on the floor. I could see it and hear it where I was standing. It’s still a two possession game at that point. If that call is made, then we’ve got a chance to set up our press and still have a chance to play the game. That call sent a 90% free throw shooter to the line and it’s gonna separate the game to a three possession game.”
Beard’s not wrong. Despite leading for only a few minutes out of the entire game, Texas Tech kept it close until those final seconds when West Virginia jumped out to a big lead. That definitely doesn’t mean Beard should’ve thrown a hissy fit about it, but at least it was caught on camera. It can serve as a reminder that no matter what, you’ve probably never thrown an enraged, floor-sitting temper tantrum at your workplace.
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